My Everything
by niamhyisgreat
Summary: My first published fanfic, written about 1 year ahead, based around Nick proposing to Jess, ***CHAPTER 13 IS UP NOW*** please review if you have any opinions on the fic and if you think i should continue? rated T for language PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD REVIEW THE STORY, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISM IS VERY USEFUL JUST DONT BE MEAN
1. Three Years

**Hiyaaaa, this is my first fic about the FOX tv show New Girl**

**any feedback it welcome, it will hopefully be a multi chapter fic if you like it!**

Three years, _three years, _that's how long his life had been turned upside down; the day that the all singing, all dancing Jessica Day bounded into his life - and it has never been the same since. As soon as he laid eyes on her, he knew – he knew she was different, so unlike him in every single way, they completed each other. Her bright floral dresses and constantly perky outlook on life was a stark contrast to the dark hole that was the former life of Nick Miller, wallowing in a mixture of self pity and longing for an unlived childhood had turned him into a turtle faced, borderline alcoholic with pessimistic views of the world that would put an adolescent white girl from the suburbs to shame. The moment she set foot in the loft; carrying with her, a hat that seemed to be made entirely of ribbons, he knew he was in trouble. There was no way she could be with him but he couldn't bear the thought of seeing her with anyone else. Nobody would ever be good enough for her, especially him.

Yet here he sits, Nick Miller, clutching in his hands a small black box that cost him around a year's worth of bartending tips. _It had to be perfect._ She didn't deserve anything less than perfection, so how she has ended up with him, grumpy, lazy, self-admitted unsuccessful adult was beyond him. _She deserves so much more than I can ever give her_. Thoughts that had taunted him for the last 3 years, doubts chattering in the back of his mind: _"she could never be happy with you" "she deserves so much more" "soon she'll see her mistakes and leave you"_ _**leave him**__. _The idea of living life without Jessica Day was unbearable, he couldn't stand going a day, let alone a lifetime without seeing her soft chocolate curls; cerulean blue eyes filled with an innocence that belongs in fairytales; her quirky old time-radio voices and constant singing. Even the idea filled his mind with panic, a sudden desperation to hug her forever, never letting go.

This is why he was doing it, all those seemingly selfish reasons: _he _couldn't live without her by his side; _he _couldn't bear to see her with anyone else. Above all the daffy duck impressions and cheques with baby farm animals on – the thing that baffled him the most is how she was possibly happy with him, she could have so much more; she could have the fancyman or a professional football player but she had chosen the agoraphobic, law school dropout with anger issues. A year ago when he had finally plucked up the courage (or audacity as Schmidt called it) to grab her in the hallway after an intense game of True American and channel all his unwanted feelings of attraction and passion into a kiss between their two rooms - Jess had astounded him by returning the passion, lust and yearning of that forbidden kiss. It was the catalyst, the spark he had been waiting for. The next few months had passed in a blur of mixed emotions and sexual tension until they decided to "try out" dating each other just nine months ago. The next nine months had passed in a less confused, more sex filled blur. Though they slept in the same bed each night, the roommates decided to keep their two rooms as they were, just to save the embarrassment of explaining why Schmidt wanted to build a gym/sex dojo in their spare room.

He was the luckiest man alive and man did he know it. Occasionally during one of their frequent cuddle/film nights on the sofa, he would look down at the beautiful woman resting so serenely on his chest and wonder what he could have possibly done to deserve such a blessing in life, she was truly the most quirky, nerdy, sweet, gentle, loving woman he had ever laid eyes on, and she really wants _me._ There was nothing that he wanted more than to make her happy, in every way he could, so he decided to take the next logical step. He bought a ring. Nothing too fancy, he knew she would hate a massive diamond "_It's just so tacky to wear something that looks like it cost more than a house on your finger and think it is a symbol of love. I think a ring should represent what the two people mean to each other"_. He racked his brains for weeks, trying to find the perfect way to express that he was so totally head over heels, crazy in love with her; through jewellery. He and Winston had searched the entire jewellery store empire of LA, until he came across a tiny, quirky store that sold handcrafted jewellery. He peered through the glass and saw a ring, he knew it said more than he ever could about what she meant to him, so he handed over all his life savings for a custom made, solid silver engagement ring, carved into the inside of the slender band was one word, how he felt about her in that one tiny word: _"everything"._


	2. Jessica Day

Because she was, in all honesty, his everything. He knew that so long as he had Jess he could face living the rest of his life as a mediocre bartender with old man clothes. He had that ring hidden in the deepest realms of his closet for the last few weeks, praying Jess didn't feel the need to have an impromptu sort of his wardrobe any time soon. He had been planning for what felt like years, thinking about the most perfect way to propose - but nothing sprung to mind. He imagined countless cheesy proposals in the middle of public places, much like the oh-so cliché rom-com proposal movies Jess forced him to watch. He was exhausted, this engagement malarkey was taking a huge amount of thought, much more effort than he had ever considered, _but it's all for her_ he thought, _she was worth it_. He decided to give himself a break, sauntering back into the living room he was greeted by the sight of his tiny girlfriend surrounded by piles of boxes, filled with various beauty products. He instantly knew who was responsible for this mess...

"Damn it Schmidt, no! I draw the line _here" _Indicating to one particularly large box, filled with inordinate amounts of packaging and what looks like several jars of Schmidt's hair chutney.

"I do not expect to come into our _shared_ living space and find my girlfriend drowning in hair sauce" Schmidt sprang up from behind one of the boxes looking disgruntled and exasperated at the clear lack of concern from his roommate when it comes to his beauty regime.

"I don't expect you to understand my ways Nicholas, you chubby, simple man. But I do expect you to not have eye sex with your '_girlfriend_' across the room whilst I am clearly still present" Schmidt spat the last few words, still incredibly sceptical of their relationship, but Nick didn't care. Even though he had been absent from her for only minutes, he was still taken aback by the sight of her, her floaty tea dress clinging to her tiny waist and grazing her thigh; her hipster-esque glasses perched atop her delicate features and flawless porcelain skin. She really was perfection; it took him huge amounts of will power to not just rush over to her right now and drag her back into his room. _No_ he had to concentrate. Jess wandered towards him and wrapped her tiny arms round his neck; he felt her body pressed against his, their two frames melting into one.

"Do you want to go to bed? I'm pretty tired from helping Schmidt move all his hair crap" Her huge eyes blinked up at him, faltering slightly at the mild profanity she used, but she knew it turned him on, pushed his buttons. He felt his stomach flutter and head flood with images, _fuck. _But he promised himself that he would figure his dilemma out before giving into his 'urges' so he gave her a quick but tender kiss and said that he was exhausted from his earlier shift at the bar so he just wanted to go to bed so he'd meet her there in a minute. After she left, looking slightly disappointed but equally drained, he sunk down into the sofa and put his head in his hands, still searching desperately for the perfect way to ask the woman he loved to spend the rest of her life with him.

An hour or so later he gave up and slouched back across the hall and into his room, where he found Jess wrapped in one of his old shirts. He slipped in next to her and just watched the steady rise and fall of his girlfriends body in her most vulnerable state, _still so beautiful, _and all of a sudden he knew, he knew exactly what he had to do and how he was going to do it.


	3. The Freak Out

_I can't do this, what if she said no?_ Doubts had been gnawing in his mind all day. Nerves were making him even less coherent than usual. He needed to talk his plan through with someone - but he knew Schmidt would freak out and possibly tell Jess, Winston was out of town at a radio conference and Cece scared Nick more than blueberries, sharks, fish and tap water combined. He knew the longer he waited, the more he would dread actually doing this, taking a huge step, making himself completely vulnerable again, like he had done with Caroline, giving a woman his heart and trusting her not to destroy it. But it wasn't the same this time, Caroline was completely different, he became obsessed, she had torn him apart, he felt like she was always hiding herself from him, but Nick trusted Jess, he knew she was crazy, girly, ditzy and spent 70% of her life talking to children (once she had gotten her old job back). And she knew he was grumpy, moody, suspicious and negative_. _They knew each other more than anyone else in the world, they told each other everything. Her flaws didn't take away from who she was but made her who she was, he loved Jess, he loved how she sung at 8am, he loved how invested she got in movie plots, he loved how when he was upset she always knew what to do, _she knew him_. He wanted to mow his lawn in dark socks, he wanted to move forward and he wanted to live the rest of his life with Jess.

The next evening they were snuggled up together on the sofa watching Jess' all time favourite movie _Dirty Dancing. _Every time they watched this movie together Nick made a mental note to start working out more so that one day he could lift Jess up and do the dance from that movie, this time he swore to himself that he would try, even if it was just eating less doughnuts, to get fit because, in his mind he could think of exactly the right time to show off his new found dance skills. His mind flashed back to the small black box he'd stuffed into the pocket of his sweatpants, knowing that he had to do it soon; he sighed deeply and turned his attention back to Patrick Swayze.

An hour later the film had finished, neither of them were really concentrating anymore and had gotten lost in one of their pointless arguments on whether pink wine made any difference to the sexual willingness of certain women. Neither were tired enough to sleep but instead chose to wander into the kitchen for a light snack. Jess found a giant jar of salsa and Nick managed to retrieve a bag of tortilla chips from among Schmidt's boxes of various exotic $20 health foods and 'detox bars'. Nick and Jess carried their snack back to Jess' room and camped out on her bed, creating a nest of duvets and pillows for them to snuggle under. Once the chips and salsa were finished they found themselves deep in conversation about fancyman Russell, and the night almost a year ago when they wrote out what they meant to each other on those valet tickets.

"I had no idea how you felt, to be fair I don't think I was entirely sure what I wanted from you then either. All I knew at that point is that when I found out you had been sleeping with Shane, I felt like I'd just swallowed a gravel car-park" Her voice suddenly filled with an emotion that killed him inside, she sounded so _hurt_. He reached for her hand and entwined her fingers in his and she acknowledged him with a small, grateful smile. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Jess abruptly asked Nick what they had been dancing round for the last half an hour...

"Nick, what did you write on your valet ticket...?"

His mouth suddenly seemed dry and he was literally gasping for air. What he had written on his card was all he could think at the time but looking back it seemed such a stupid thing to write. Just as he began to stutter, Schmidt burst into the room screaming something about the cat-bird and double rabies. Thankful for an escape from the awkward and possibly deadly situation at hand, both Nick and Jess rushed out following Schmidt.

The couple eventually re-enter the loft after 3 hours of chasing rabid cats round the roof terrace. Frustrated and exhausted they both head to Jess' room for what's left of a good night's sleep. Just as Nick was about to drift off, Jess' voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

"Hey Nick?" Her voice was soft and soothing but with a slight tone of apprehension

"Yeah Jess?" Nick knew what was coming, he knew ever since the interruption earlier, her mind was still fixed on those damn valet tickets.

"What did you write on your ticket? I don't mind whatever you wrote, I just want to know" He could tell that she was trying hard to not sound too desperate but she was clearly panicking and quite likely over-thinking the situation.

"Jess, don't worry about it, we agreed that we wouldn't let your ex-boyfriend hold that power over our relationship, that's why we agreed to not discuss those tickets, now go to sleep, you must be exhausted after running after that cat trying to negotiate with it to give your phone back" Nick's tone was kind but firm, hoping that she would forget about those tickets and that she would not find out what he had actually written on those cards until he had time to get his shit together.


	4. Valet Tickets

**Quite short but a bit more angsty than the first few chapters, I'm sorry to drag this out for so long, but I felt like they should have some angst in between all the fluff! Next chapter should be the actual proposal, and if i get more positive feedback, i will probably write the story up to/past the actual wedding.**

The next morning Nick could see that Jess was still on edge. Keen not to re-start the discussion over the valet tickets, he slipped out of her room, leaving Jess still wrapped in the nest of duvets and pillows and headed down to the store to pick up some more beer, he was running dangerously low. On his way back he met Cece just leaving the apartment, she was still deep in conversation with Jess, looking worried but attempting to reassure Jess of something.

"_Great..." _He thought, he knew exactly what was troubling Jess.

"_Why can't she just drop this already?"_ He thought to himself, he wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt, but he had written it so clumsily on that card last year. He was jolted back into reality by Cece brushing past him, giving him one of her terrifying stares, which he knew meant that he needed to talk to Jess right away. He hurried inside after her, momentarily struggling with the handle to their apartment, his anger flashing as he remembered his reoccurring issue with doors. He eventually flung open the door and rushed inside to find Jess looking slightly dishevelled but very determined. She marched towards him, scrunched up her eyes and let the question tumble out her mouth.

"Nick, please tell me what you wrote on your card, I know you will say it's no big deal, but it matters to me. I know it was like a year ago but I just feel like I need to know how you felt" Her voice faltered and her eyes looked glassy with the threat of tears.

"Jess, you have to understand that all I want is for you to be happy, but I'm begging you to please forget about those damn valet cards." His voice tinged with pleading

"GODDAMNIT MILLER, WHY WON'T YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WROTE!" She cried, clearly paranoid thanks to the work of Cece's "girl's chat" and probably thought that the card said that he just wanted to be friends or worse, use her for sex, when in fact it was quite the opposite

"JESS WHY CAN'T YOU JUST TRUST ME THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT I WROTE ON THAT STUPID VALET TICKET" Nick was growing weary of keeping the contents of the ticket to himself, but he worried that if she found out what he wrote that she would panic.

"YOU DRIVE ME NUTS MILLER! WHY WOULD YOU NOT, EVEN AFTER 1 YEAR TOGETHER YOU STILL CAN'T TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL" That had done it, she thought he didn't care and that killed him. He would show her how much he cared, even if it meant freaking her out and losing her, _losing her _another pang of fear struck his insides at the thought, but he couldn't bear to know that Jess thought he didn't care.

"FINE - YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT I WROTE ON THAT TICKET? WELL HERE IT IS..." He was panting for breath and realised that throughout their arguing they had stepped closer and closer together until now they found themselves, faces almost touching. Even after 9 months together the passion and the spark was still as present as always. "I WROTE "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I MEAN TO JESS BUT I'M PRETTY SURE SHE'S THE ONE"" Jess fell silent and her eyes widened almost comically. He suddenly felt shy and foolish, in true Nick Miller style, he panicked moonwalked right the way past a still speechless Jess and back into his room.


	5. The Big Question

They had been avoiding each other for the remainder of the day, both determined not to bring up the discussion again.

"I've freaked her out, I knew it" All Nick's doubts and fears about what would happen if Jess found out what he wrote on that ticket had come to fruition.

"Typical Nick Miller" He thought, scolding himself about the events that has just unfolded "You screwed it up with the one girl you really truly loved and now you'll be left with nothing but Schmidt and Winston for company for the next 10 years" He had to fix this, he couldn't let her slip away, he had to fight.

He opened up a battered old CD case that read "Dirty Dancing, The Soundtrack" if anyone ever found out he had this, his reputation would be ruined, but after he saw how much Jess loved that stupid film, he figured that it might come in handy one day.

He placed the CD carefully onto the CD player and began playing "I've had the Time of my Life" loudly. He knew she could hear it, so waiting for her to eventually come out her room, he propped himself up against the doorframe and waited.

It took about two minutes of panic and "what if she really doesn't love me" thoughts before he heard the handle of her door slowly turn and Jess' head peering round the corner. This was it; there was no going back now...

Jess came closer, still timid, as though she was afraid that any sudden movements would spook him. Not this time, he wasn't going to run away anymore. He took a deep breath and tried desperately to order his thoughts into sentences.

"Jessica, you are so beautiful in every way, physically and also mentally. I love that you break for birds and come home covered in glitter and cardboard, I love that you insist on watching Dirty Dancing at least once a month, I love that you take pictures of cats on your car rather than shooing them away like any sane person would do, I love that you try and force me to see the good in people even if they are standing in our apartment requesting a threesome, and most importantly I love you, in every way, you are my best friend, my girlfriend and that's all I want in life, I want you to be mine." He saw her eyes well with tears and silently begged for her not to cry - at least until he had finished, he pulled what he was sure Jess would deem a "mega turtle face" and carried on, knowing that if he stopped to breathe, words would be lost on him once more.

"My life has not been the same since I met you; you have changed my life in so many ways, sometimes without even realising. You have been here for me through everything, including more than a few shenanigans, a half-failed parent trap and the death of my dad. You have made me such a better person, so what I wanted to ask you, Jessica Day, was whether you would do me the honour -"

He leant down to get onto one knee, but landed on a rouge roller-skate from two Christmases ago, sending him, still clutching the small velvet box, flying onto the floor. Jess rushed over to him, he looked back up at her and saw a mixture of amusement, concern and something that could have either been love or pity (he didn't like to think which) glistening in her eyes. She pulled him to his feet, kicking away the offending roller-skate and motioned for him to carry on.

He was beyond mortified, but it felt only right to continue, so he ploughed on, getting on one knee, much more carefully this time. He looked back up into her eyes and suddenly remembered. Remembered, that it didn't matter what happens, or how many roller-skates get in their way; he was going to spend the rest of his life with this amazing, beautiful, strange and quirky woman because he loved her. Clearing his throat, he attempted to make a slight recovery from the unfortunately placed skates. "Ahem... Jessica Day, would you do me the honour of spending the rest of your life trying to teach me to see the good in people?" He flicked open the top of the tiny black box, slightly dented from the fall, and presented her the ring that said everything he could ever say and more.

She studied the slim silver band momentarily before her face broke into the widest, most genuine smile he had ever seen and started nodding her head profusely.

"Yes of course I will you grumpy-faced fool!" She flung herself into his arms and he was suddenly glad he had been working out. She put all her weight on him and wrapped her legs round his waist; he steadied her from behind with his hands and looked into her eyes.

As they stood, lost in the ideas of weddings and a future together, the significance of this particular spot suddenly dawned on him. This was where they had shared their first kiss, one he would never want to or be able to forget. This hallway was the only space keeping them apart for the two years that they lived together as platonic friends and roommates. This space marked the cornerstone of his relationship with the woman he would walk to the ends of the earth for, the woman he would fancy-fix the entire apartment for, the woman who had just agreed to spend the rest of her life with him.

**Hehehehehheeeeeee, I'm not sure whether to end it here or write all the way put to the wedding, so could you please review and give your opinions xxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	6. The Roommate Dynamic

She couldn't believe it... Nick had done exactly what she was beginning to think he never would; he told her how he felt. She had never for one moment imagined that this turtle faced man who was baffled by the concept of 20 minutes of foreplay could ever render her completely emotionally (and physically *wink wink*) satisfied.

"_I love you, in every way, you are my best friend, my girlfriend and that's all I want in life, I want you to be mine." _His words still reverberating through her mind, she had never imagined that she could feel this happy, she was ecstatic and felt as if she could literally burst into a thousand, tiny, glittery pieces. What would her parents say?! She had to phone her mum! No wait, Schmidt and Winston... Cece! She couldn't believe she hadn't told Cece! She sprung off her bed, past Nick's empty room (he had gone to work earlier that afternoon) and hurtled out the door.

Once she had reached Cece's, she knocked fervently on her door and was ready to break it down when it swung open, revealing an exasperated and familiar face.

"SCHMIDT?! What the hell are you doing here?"

With an eye roll and one of his infamous you-should-know-why, this-is-sex-bitch looks he slumped back onto the sofa when Cece appeared from her bedroom, scantily clad wearing only a small blue robe, not dissimilar to the pink fluffy one she owned, coined "catnip" by one Nick Miller. She perched on the edge of the sofa next to Schmidt.

"Er... hey Schmidt, I thought you went out to get lunch like three hours ago?"Jess had no clue that this whole debacle had started up again, but felt a weird reassurance in the fact that two of her closest friends had found some messed up, sexual contentment together. A smirk crept across his prominent features.

"Well yeah, we went to get some sushi and then headed back to Cecilia's for _dessert"_ His obvious emphasis on the word dessert and his cocky grin spelt out far more than she felt necessary. Cece shot him a threatening glare and shooed him back into the bedroom.

"Get dressed then get out Schmidt, I'll speak to you later about answering my door in nothing but a bed sheet, what if that had been someone who doesn't know that you can't spend 2 seconds with your shirt on!" Two minutes later, a shirted Schmidt stumbled towards the door looking flustered and slightly like a toddler who had just been deprived its bottle.

"Fine, I'll leave. But I will return before the day is through, Schmidt OUT –"And with a resounding _thud_, he slammed close the door, knocking the thoughts of engagement back into Jess' head. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt; Shivrang had left Cece at the altar last year to rekindle a forgotten romance with an ex girlfriend of his. Though neither of them loved each other really, the abandoned wedding had taken its toll on Cece, she could never again face the thought of embracing marriage so quickly; and the idea of Jess getting married might not be exactly what she wanted to hear.

But Cece was her friend and friends support each other, she couldn't possibly go through the process of planning the wedding without her... Jess took a deep breath and prepared herself for Cece to raise hell about her news.

"Cece, earlier this afternoon Nick and I were talking – well sort of arguing - because he wouldn't tell me how he felt, and then -.." Cece looked up at her with an air she couldn't fully comprehend, was it fear? Loathing? Pity? "_Pity?! She thinks Nick and I have split up!"_ To stop her friend from delivering completely unnecessary condolences, she rushed the last half of her would-have-been speech

"And then he suddenly did own up to his feelings and he also... proposed" The words shot out her mouth so fast she wasn't sure Cece was able to hear at all, but faltered on the last two syllables.

She now couldn't read Cece's face at all; she looked like she was battling with herself about Jess' news, but suddenly her face lit up and she jumped into action.

"Oh my god, are you serious?! He _proposed?!_ I can't believe it, congratulations Jess, I'm speechless..." Any sense of doubt or jealously in either of Cece's mindsets had been washed away and both girls dissolved into hysterical giggles. After what seemed like hours of mindless screeching and jumping, they finally calm down long enough for Cece to form coherent sentences.

"Can I see the ring that old cheapskate bought you Ms. Miller?" Bewildered slightly at the name, she stares blankly at her for a few seconds before it registered. _"I'm going to be Mrs Miller!" _The thought filled her with apprehension, but the nice, buzzing kind you feel when you're called on stage to collect a prize. She held out her hand so they could both examine the delicate silver band, slipped onto her ring finger not hours ago. It sparkled gracefully, several tiny diamonds embedded into the ring, glinting in the stark light of afternoon sun. She smoothly slid it off her finger and noticed something carved in the inside of the ring; _everything._ The word stirred in her memory; she was reminded of the time they were locked in a lift together for several hours, how they had gotten onto the topic of wedding rings and how she had said that a ring should be a statement of what they meant to each other. "_I can't believe he remembered" _She gripped the ring tightly in her hands, taking a moment to fully appreciate the thought; the fact that he remembered that tiny snippet of conversation, from over 6 months ago. _"I'm his everything"_ She was lost in a whirlwind of memories, a huge wave of pure love washed over her; she was the luckiest girl in the world. To think that she almost let Schmidt and the "_roommate dynamic_" keep her from this happiness.

She was rudely awakened from her world beyond Cece's apartment by a vicious knocking and what sounded like all three of her roommates, arguing outside the door.

"Jess, we know you're in there and we would like to have a discussion with you and your new _fiancée_ about the implications of your engagement" Schmidt's crisp tone cut through her daydreams and brought her back down to earth with a bang, this was going to take a lot of work.


	7. Brunch

**I've tried to bring in all the roommates a bit more here but it's hard finding lines for them all, there will be more group dynamic towards the wedding! **

She sunk lower into the beige leather sofa and threw her head back in exasperation. Schmidt burst in the door and stormed over to a now utterly mortified Jess.

"Jessica, I cannot believe you would do this! Are you looking for more attention at home? Do you want me to hire somebody to come and crochet with you?" His constantly disapproving and patronising tone grated Jess in a way in never usually would – He didn't think she should marry Nick? He thought it was some huge joke?! Initially Jess had felt pity for Schmidt and his less than discreet jealously of their stable, functioning relationship; after Cece's wedding fell to pieces, everyone had noticed an obvious increase in Schmidt's interest in long term commitments, starting with a 2 year gym contract that he was initially sceptical about joining, due to the commitment involved. But now she felt angry, angry that he still didn't take their relationship seriously, it had been a whole year!

"Schmidt what are you doing here?" Her voice still hoarse from the impromptu screaming with Cece moments earlier "Why are you yelling? And no, Sadie has agreed to come round and help me when Cece is busy with work... We're getting off topic! What is going on?!" Her shrill tone was slowly becoming hysterical, she was so mad at Schmidt; was being happy for them too much to ask?! To save an impending shrieking fit from both parties, Nick stepped in to settle the scene.

"Jess I know you wanted to tell the guys with me, but Schmidt smelt a rat, he knew something was up instantly and I couldn't lie to him..."

"That's right Jessica Day" Schmidt smirked "Your little sweatback boyfriend spilled aaaall about your dirty little secret" Nick grimaced and Schmidt turned to Jess triumphant. At this point Winston chose to step in as an attempt to cut the tension between the two rivals for Nick's heart.

"Look Jess, I know Schmidt is being irrational, but what I think he's trying to say is that we're happy for you, and we would be glad to help you two plan the wedding if you ever need any help" Winston's usually intense demeanour had been replaced by soothing tones, in a desperate attempt to extinguish the angst and apprehension filling the air.

Everyone decided to go to a diner for brunch and discuss the wedding in a place where Schmidt couldn't sulk or start throwing china and cutlery around. Upon hearing the word "brunch" Nick launched into a grumble over how combining two meals into one would eventually lead to the fall of democracy.

"I just don't want you rushing into something that you're not sure about; I want to make sure that you both know what you're committing to... Nick, you're prepared to commit to this one woman and spend the rest of your life listening to Dirty Dancing on repeat and finding feelings sticks decorating the house?" Schmidt had stopped yelling and was now scrutinizing both of them about the decisions they were making, it had been going on like this for the past hour, but at Schmidt's last statement Nick's face cracked into a wide, beaming smile

"Schmidt, I've never wanted anything more in my life" Jess could feel her face flush scarlet as she caught Nick's eye and he winked at her. When did Nick Miller get so... smooth? He pulled off the wink with a charming grin and re-focused his attention quickly back to the stack of pancakes in front of him

Hours later, after Nick and Jess finally managed to convince Schmidt that he would not have to pay to re-home either of them if they got a divorce - as neither of them were abandoned puppies, the couple returned home to the loft; alone together after what seemed like days. Winston had to rush back to the radio station to discuss emergency sports that Jess didn't even try to understand, and Schmidt went home with Cece after several deliberate nudges to Nick when Cece grabbed his hand on the walk to the car park.

Nick snaked his arms round Jess' waist, she could feel his hands resting on the small of her back. He pulled her towards him until their two bodies had melted into one. She looked up into his eyes feeling completely content, for the first time she was with somebody who knew her, _really _knew her and he still loved her. There was no cheating, no awkwardness, certainly no lack of passion and no supposedly platonic roommate kissing her in hallways. It was perfect.

"Why are you looking at me like that Day, do I still have pancake on my face?" He interrupted her peaceful analysis of his features by rubbing his mouth, trying to rid himself of non-existent pancake residue.

"No Miller, it's fine, I was just looking at the face of my new fiancée" She smirked as she said it, batting her eyelids at him innocently. He grinned again, leaning in for a kiss. They spent the rest of the day making fun of Schmidt's film collection and watching the Walking Dead together, as Jess refused to watch it alone.

While they were snuggled together on the sofa, after 4 hours of Walking Dead she looked up at him giggling and sang "Right Miller, shall we get started on planning this catastrophe?"

**Next chapter will be planning the wedding ect ect. I can carry on writing from either point of view, I think I prefer Nick's POV but it wanted to get both sides, it should get a little more dramatic and angsty soon! I'm also going to try and work in more about how Nick and Jess became a couple if people are interested?**


	8. Venues and Seating Plans

They had been sat together around the dining room table for several hours – strewn across the varnished mahogany surface were reams of venue options, guest lists and invitation designs. Jess had gradually buried herself under seemingly never-ending piles of distant relatives contact details; she appeared from under the mountain - her usually perfect curls, tousled and messy, falling round her shoulders haphazardly. Burying her face in her hands he noticed glinting silver band, worn on the third finger of her left hand; he could help but smirk to himself. _How did he ever manage to get this lucky, how did he ever manage to get her?_

Jess noticed Nick's vacant smile and mistook it as a gloating action "Nick, instead of just sitting there and mocking me, why don't you come closer and help me decide how to order the seating arrangements; we need to make sure that my Mum and Dad are on opposite sides of the room, but still close enough to catch each other's eye and possibly join in for a double wedding? Last minute Parent Traps are always the most effective!" Once onto the subject of Parent Trapping, her tone of voice lightened significantly, ringing with her usual crazy optimism; there was nothing quite like planning an impromptu wedding for her two divorced parents to get her spirits up.

Nick got up off his chair and made his way closer to Jess and the avalanche of paperwork. He stood, positioned directly behind her chair, brushing her cheek with his as he leant forward to look at the seating plans so far. His eyes skimmed the paper, noticing at least fifty people he did not recognise the names of.

"You know, we should really get Schmidt to help us with this stuff, you know me Jess, I'm not into organising and planning"

Jess whipped her head round and spoke in a playful tone of mock seriousness "Just so you know - I'm not going to turn into your new Schmidt, organising your entire life for you. One of these days, you're going to have to learn how to book your own dentist appointments" He stared down at her, suddenly aware of her face so close to his – he could smell her vanilla perfume and strawberry shampoo, so unmistakably _Jess_. His eyes flicked to her lips and he was momentarily hypnotised by her porcelain skin and still-swollen lips from their late night activities yesterday.

His face brushed rouge strands of hair off her face, forcing himself not to blink. As quickly as it had fallen so intensely silent between the pair; they suddenly and quite unintentionally launched into a staring competition. He widened his eyes, daring her to look away. It was the absolute easiest starting competition he had ever had the pleasure of competing in; he felt entirely sure that he could stare into her eyes for the rest of his life.

Jess returned his juvenile act of daring by blowing on his face, attempting to falter his gaze, but in doing so sacrificed her own strength in the matter and was forced to tear away from the gaze, blinking repeatedly. "I think that has fused my contacts onto my eye sockets. I may never see again Miller, and it's all your fault!"

She crossed her arms, pouting at him. Even when she was sulking, he couldn't quite believe how perfect she was.

He grinned sheepishly, wrapping his hands round her waist – her tiny frame melted into him with ease "Look, why don't we leave this wedding stuff for a while, we could go out for some lunch and meet Winston, he should have finished his show by now..." Nick looked hopefully down into her blinking azure eyes, he was exhausted from sifting through lace table cloth samples and seating plans, he just wanted to spend time with Jess. For something that was meant to unify a couple, weddings sure required a considerable amount of tedious traditions.

She looked longingly at him in the thought of some quality time with him away from confetti colour schemes and flower arrangements "I need to get this done, plus we still need to pick a venue; deposits have to be in soon and Schmidt is still insisting we honour his Jewish heritage and hold the whole thing in a synagogue" They scoffed at their preposterous roommate and his ridiculous requests

"I'm not sure about a synagogue, but maybe we could stick a little Jewish star on his invitation to shut him up" Nicks eyes sparkled, like they did whenever he talked about a potential prank or messing with Schmidt. Both of which had been banned in the loft, ever since Winston and Schmidt's attempt at sabotaging Cece's wedding involving crawling through air vents and rouge honey badgers had resulted in huge law suits from the priest, who left the wedding sporting several potentially septic bites... "How about a compromise, we leave the loft, but instead of lunch; we go and check out a few of these venues?"

Her face broke into an exhausted smile "It's a date"

His hand brushed over her cheek and her face relaxed into a more content grin. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Looking down at her face momentarily, he found himself questioning what he would have done if Jessica Day hadn't come barging into his life armed with feelings sticks and all her pretty dresses. Thinking about their relationship now, he thought it illogical to have ever been in a relationship with anybody else, she was perfect and everything he needed. The serendipitous romance that had blossomed between them was his reality, and it was more than he could have ever dreamed of.


	9. Cece's Wedding

They pulled up outside the third and final destination, neither of them had seen photos of this venue, but the description sounded enchanting and Jess had insisted that she "had a good feeling about it"

As they stepped out the car they marvelled at the grand white hall, both impressed by its grandeur. Suddenly both Nick and Jess let out a gasp and turned to each other, no wonder Jess thought the description was so vivid in her mind, they had been here before; this was where Cece almost got married last year.

"Oh my god Nick, do you realise where this is?!" Jess was speechless, she couldn't believe that she hadn't realised

"What do you mean do I realise, of course I do! This is where the pranksters of apartment 4D were laid to rest" His eyes welled with tears at the memories of last year, some from his love of pranks, but majoritively from recalling the near death experience of being trapped with Jess, Winston and a rabid badger in the ventilation system and falling through the roof, literally crashing Cece's wedding ceremony.

"Well there's no way that we can get married here! We can't ask Cece to return to the place where she got dumped for some tragic and lanky ex-girlfriend by her hobbit of an almost-husband!"

"Yeah, I miss ol' Shavi... We had some good times together" Nicks stared dramatically into the distance, no doubt recalling all the one times that they hung out together

"Nick you literally took him out for one night to try and take a picture of his penis" Jess looked recalled the unfortunate night of Cece's regrettably PG rated bachelorette party.

"Hey Jessica, it was your request remember, who am I to say no to your weird requests, plus you ended up pretty impressed by a picture of somebody else's hardware if I remember correctly..."

Nicks eyes suddenly flickered with intensity, he moved closer to Jess and wrapped his arms round her waist "Do you remember what else happened here Jessica?" A sly grin flashed across his face, both of them remembering the night that sparked the rest of their lives.

"Hmmm, all I remember is some creepy guy driving round with me all night getting us lost in the back-streets of LA, and Cotton Eye Joe making an appearance" Her eyes sparkled mischievously, her teasing tone dripping with jovial glee.

"Ha ha very funny, but I seem to recall somebody almost begging me to not call something off, tell me Jessica" Nick moved in closer to her as he spoke "Can you remember who that was?" His voice had dropped to a husky whisper, his hands caught around her in a tight embrace

Her eyes blinked back up at him slowly, she felt her mouth go dry "_Dammit Miller"_ She thought, "_how does he still manage to make my brain turn to mush after all this time?!" _

The intensity between them was extinguished by an obnoxiously loud rendition of _"I'm So Excited"_ from inside Jess' pocket

"Jessica is that still your ringtone?"

"Yes now shut up, and if you can't appreciate the genius of 80's music then there may not be a wedding" She spat the words but her eyes softened at the sight of Nick's crestfallen face.

"Ugh it's Schmidt" Jess read the caller ID and picked up the call, putting it on loudspeaker so Nick can tell him to go away if he keept pestering them

"Hey Schmidt, what's up?"

"Jessica, for god's sake how many times have I asked you and your marriage buddy not to steal my condoms? They're expensive and personalised for my preferences.

"Look Schmidt, unless you'd rather I got pregnant and there was another grumpy-faced Miller running round the apartment, you'd better stop complaining"

Schmidt fell silent for a second, obviously considering the two options "Well fine Jessica Day, but you should expect a bill to come in the mail to reimburse me for all the money and nights of safe sex you've cost me"

"What - Schmidt, we live in the same apartment as you, why would you mail me the bill? Whatever just don't bother us, we're looking for wedding venues"

"I hope you've been looking at only the best synagogues, they have some real shady looking ones round here..."

"Schmidt, No! We are not getting married in a Jewish synagogue, Goodbye" Jess hung up the phone and snapped her bag shut

"Nick I think we should just give up for now, we're never going to find the perfect venue, this one is closest to what I imagined but I'm never going to find my perfect venue, we might as well go to City Hall" She was slumped against the car in defeat, It killed him to see her so disappointed, he was going to fix this... He lifted her off the ground and propped her up against a pillar

"So what would your perfect venue be then?" Jess' steely glare into the distance softened as she looked up at him

"Well I don't know exactly, I always wanted to get married somewhere beautiful, I'd love a big fancy hall like this one, but my perfect place would be outdoors, near a lake or something with pagodas and fairy lights with flowers hung up everywhere, everyone sat on pretty vintage chairs and a little marriage arch with white roses and a bouquet of wild flowers-..." She stopped and stared down at the group "Y'know forget it, we'll never be able to find somewhere like that, let alone afford it, this is LA, the whole City is either literal million dollar views or dumpsters and back alleys..." Jess turned forlornly to Nick who was staring intently at a squirrel. He knew what he needed to do...

"Hey Jess listen, why don't we forget about the venue for now, you focus on going to sort your dress and everything out, trust me, it will all work out" Jess looked up at him with a shadow of a smile playing on her lips

"I don't know Miller; remember when Schmidt left you in charge of the Port-A-Potty's for your Tinfinity party? I don't want a whole wedding packed with old toilets from the 1800's" She was smirking, clearly pleased with her joke.

"Jess trust me, I will put much more effort into this, to be honest I just looked for the first Port-A-Potty place I could afford, but not this time, I will find the perfect place for you Jessica Day" A triumphant smile spread across his face.

He drove Jess to Cece's house to discuss dresses and then made his way to find the perfect spot for him to marry the woman of his dreams.


	10. The Dress

Man this dress was tight, the wedding was in a week; either she didn't eat anything but baby-food for the next 7 days or she would pass out at her own wedding with bruised ribs and a crushed diaphragm...

She drew back the heavy satin curtains of the changing room and stepped out into the startlingly white room surrounding her, maybe she had spent too long trying to get the dress over her head or she's hallucinating from the lack of oxygen in her lungs but the room was now almost blindingly bright, and had an overwhelming scent of lavender that she was sure wasn't there when she entered the store. Stepping out into the harsh lights she was greeted elated gasps and coos over how wonderful she looked.

She turned to face Cece and her mother who had both come with her to try on the dress one final time before the wedding; they both were silent and Jess could have sworn Cece's eyes looked incredulously glassy for her usually composed best friend. Joan clasped her hands together in delight, looking towards Jess with a rush of maternal affection.

Jess was dressed in a satin gown with a huge train running down the side, lace flowers embroidered to the bodice and skirt with a corset so tight and unforgiving she could have sworn it was one of the old Victorian ones that used to make women faint at regular intervals, she loved vintage – but she loved her digestive system more. Tugging childishly at the neckline she groaned in pain from the heavy fabric and torturous corset "This dress is so tight, I feel like all my internal organs are being forced into my boobs!" She exclaimed, examining her now significantly more voluptuous décolletage.

Joan stepped forwards with a look of concern "Jess honey, you don't look too comfortable in that dress, how about we go look in another store, these high end Hollywood stores are so pretentious, you don't look like you're having a good time in that dress..."

She breathed a sigh of relief "Would you mind, Cosmo said that this is the go-to for weddings but I'm not sure, most of these dresses cost more than a year of my rent!"

"Come on Jess, I know the best place to get one of a kind dresses, it's on this great little street with loads of cute little stores, I think there's even a place there that sells wedding rings!" Cece was using a reassuring tone; she could sense the edge of panic in Jess's voice.

"It's a week before the wedding and I still don't have a dress, how did I let this happen?" Jess was on the verge of tears, the shop seemed to be getting gradually hotter and her chest felt restricted by the ridiculous bodice of the dress.

After a quarter of an hour spent heaving and struggling to break Jess out of the satin prison, she was finally yanked free and was now ambling down the LA streets towards the store that Cece insists would be perfect for Jess.

Cece directed her towards a sweet little street lined with potted flower arrangements and tea tables, it looked like it had been plucked out of the British countryside and hidden in the centre of LA, masked by Starbucks and American Apparels.

Jess passed by the tea shops and quaint cafes until she came across a tiny, quirky store that sold handcrafted jewellery. She went on her tiptoes and peered through the glass, marvelling and the wonderful array of rings, necklaces and earrings, all one of a kind. To get something for somebody from there would really mean something; she looked down at her own left hand, admiring the slender silver band, engraved with those words that still made her heart swell with delight -

"Jess, here's the store, I found it!" Cece was beckoning her into a tiny store with a huge window display of delicate lace dresses, each so different, every dress managing to surpass the rest in elegance and beauty.

She stepped inside the store and instantly laid eyes on a dress, and she knew that it was hers, it was perfect. It seemed that all three women through the same thing as they were all standing in the doorway of the tiny, claustrophobic shop, gawking at the same dress, hanging up in the corner of the store. It was so quirky but classically beautiful, unconventionally traditional and indisputably _Jess._

Her mouth fell open in admiration of the dress; she rushed forwards and snatched the dress off its hanger, dashing haphazardly round the ramshackle shop searching for a shop assistant. She eventually ended up crashing head on into the store owner

"Hello lovely!" The woman was around thirty and had a perky demeanour that put both Jess and her mother to shame.

"Er yes, hi... I would like to try on this dress please" Jess was knocked slightly off guard by the overwhelming sweetness of the shop owner.

"Of course, it's a gorgeous dress, it suits you perfectly! The changing rooms are right over there; give me a shout if you need a hand!" The woman simpered, indicating the curtained area at the very back of the shop.

Jess rushed across the room and flung herself in the changing room, desperate to try on this perfect dress. It slipped easily on over her shoulders and didn't a titanium strength corset build for an impossibly curvaceous woman. She stepped out from behind the delicate cotton curtains and into the welcoming glow of the store. Both Cece and Joan fell silent, and without saying a word – they all knew that this was the dress Jess should be getting married in. She grinned approvingly in the reflection of a dusty vintage dressing-table mirror and gave a small nod of approval to herself

"I'll take it" She beamed at the shop assistant. She had found the perfect dress, the perfect dress in which to marry her perfectly imperfect new fiancée.


	11. Walt

He heard a knock at the door followed by Winston peering round the corner  
"Hey man, you ready?"

"Yeah just a second, I can't get my damn tie straight" He replied tugging at the suffocating, knotted mess that was hung round his neck. Winston strode over to Nick and started to detangle the crumpled mess of his skinny black tie.

"Do you think Jess would mind if I undid my top button, this stupid shirt is so tight" Nick was now pawing at the newly tied tie with desperate panic.

"Nick man, are you ok? You look like you did that time your dad got those hookers for us..." Winston said with an air of concern, but he choked on the word "hooker", still not fully accepting of the fact that Mysteria, his "first love" was a lady of the night.

"Yeah man I'm fine, but it's just weddings y'know... parents and stuff, I mean my Dad won't be here... I know he was never around anyway, but I always figured that he'd be there on my wedding day, to pat me on the shoulder and give us some fake masterpiece or counterfeit watches as a wedding present. It's just hit me that he'll never see me marry the woman I love. I mean sure, he's met her, but that was before she knew I was in love with her; hell – it was before I knew..." Nicks eyes had gone glassy and he could feel tears stinging his eyes. He wasn't gonna cry, he wasn't gonna cry –

All of a sudden, all the emotions he'd kept bottled up for the last 30 years came flooding out. It was like the melancholy cloud suspended about his head for his whole life had just cracked open into a rhapsodic wave. Winston looked taken aback at the sudden absence of Nick's stony visage, it was always Jess that broke down and he was always the one to be there for her... Nick considered _if he couldn't stay strong for everyone else, what the hell was the point of him?_

"Look man, I know you're scared and that doing this without your Dad is just another thing that he wasn't there for... but think about it, when he was alive, you never knew when Pop-Pop would just appear unannounced and throw everything out of balance. But now, you know that he'll always be with you. He just wanted you to be happy, and look at you now! You're in the prime of your life, you've got Jess, and you're getting _married_ man... considering how bad things could have gone for you and how messed up your life could have been, I think you've done pretty well..."

Nick straightened up from hunching over his glass of scotch and wiped his eyes.

"I guess you're right man, but still, with Jess... what if I end up letting her down and hurting her? I would never be able to forgive myself if I screwed her over, she means too damn much to me." He collapsed into a leather armchair and buried his head in his hands. If he screwed this up and disappointed Jess he wouldn't be able to carry on, he was such a mess and she was so perfect, she knew Nick and was still crazy enough to think that he was enough for her; but what if he wasn't enough, he sure as hell was no match for the professional football player, or millionaire, or paediatrician or even the teacher. He couldn't afford to shower her with the luxurious gifts she deserves, he didn't deserve her.

Winston and Nick sat in plutonic silence until Winston's phone started buzzing in his pocket; he pulled it out and opened the message from Schmidt:

_Where are you? Bring Nicholas down, the festivities are about to commence._

Winston motioned towards the clock and cleared his throat "Hey man it's getting kinda late, are you still gonna do this?"

Nick sighed and ran his hands through his hair "I don't _know_ Winston, in reality, I'm not good enough for her, she deserves someone who can take her to the Parisian art galleries she loves at a moment's notice; someone who could buy out the whole of the French patisserie that she loved just so they would never run out of her favourite pastries; or-" He trailed off, sinking lower into the chair.

Winston shook his head and moved towards Nick "Listen man, it doesn't matter that you're a bartender and that you bought her ring and this entire place on tips. It doesn't matter that you can't whisk her across the sea at a moment's notice, or buy out entire shops for her... What does matter is that you know all that about her, you know where she loves to eat and what she loves and where she wants to go, and that is so much more important than money. You love Jess, and she loves you; you haven't – as far as I know – forced her into marrying you, she chose to because she loves you... And if you changed into a football playing, millionaire, teacher who could buy out the entire city, just for her, she wouldn't really be in love with the real Nick Miller. But right now, the way I see it, you could either walk away from this whole situation and everyone involved; or... you could go out there and marry the woman you love and spend the rest of your life with her. You don't need to run away every time it gets tough, because the tough parts help you see what's really worth fighting for. And one thing I know for sure is that you would do anything, for Jess, and give her anything she wanted – and right now what she wants, is to marry you..."

Nick lifted his head out of his hands and jumped out his seat with such vigour he knocked the vase off the table next to him, but it didn't matter; because he was going to go out there and marry Jessica Day. The woman of his dreams.

"You're right Winston, I'm gonna marry Jess because she is the best thing that's ever happened to me, she is a beautiful sunshine-y flower in my manure filled life, and for some reason, she wants to marry me too" He grabbed his jacket of the back of the chair and galloped out the room.

**I'M SORRY I KNOW I SAID THIS WOULD BE THE WEDDING CHAPTER BUT THERE IS A LOT OF STUFF TO COVER OK BUT I SWEAR ON NICK AND JESS' WEDDING VOWS THAT THE ACTUAL WEDDING WILL BE IN THE NEXT (ONE OR TWO) CHAPTERS AND AGAIN PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW IT IS SO HELPFUL, AND IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE WEDDING I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THEM :D**


	12. Wild Flowers and Promises (The Wedding)

Nick charged down the mahogany panelled corridors, desperate to make it on time, he couldn't be late... not for this.

He arrived at the doors, stepped through into the shining light ahead. He looked around in approval, ephemeral nerves bubbling in his stomach, the surroundings lit in an iridescent glow intertwined with the dulcet scent of wild flowers and white roses.

He made his way round the outside and slipped beside Winston and Schmidt, positioned directly in front of around one hundred smiling faces, beaming encouragingly at the increasingly nervous Nick. Speaking in public was never his forte, but reciting his vows - his feelings towards Jess in front of so many people left Nick feeling fresh waves of panic drench him from all angles.

He felt Schmidt's sturdy hand move him closer into the archway; he complied passively – resisting the urge to panic-moonwalk away from the entire situation. Nick began tugging at the sleeves of his shirt, and waited with baited breath for the doors to open and for the rest of his life to begin.

Jess adjusted her veil and tugged nervously at her manicured fingernails. She still hadn't seen the venue properly; she had been hurried inside by her mother and Cece almost four hours ago and hadn't seen sunlight since. She was aching to see the place Nick had chosen but knew he would be crushed if the surprise was ruined, so she continued in acquiescence, holding pins whilst her dress was adjusted, winding strands of hair impatiently round her finger and downing several cups of green tea; her mother had forbidden her usual favourite and insisted that green tea would calm her nerves.

Cece led Jess along the winding mahogany corridors; Jess clung on convinced that if she let go she would never find her way out. She had not seen Nick in over three days, it was the longest they had spent apart in almost three years and she hated it, if this is what it felt like without Nick by her side she couldn't wait until he was there again, supporting and encouraging her, being her best friend, her boyfriend and so much more. Nick criticised himself on being no good with words but honestly Jess thought quite the opposite; he could always find the right words to fix things, to fix her. He truly was her everything.

She felt her mum arrive at her side, she silently handed Jess her bouquet of wild flowers. She gasped; _he surely can't have remembered_ she thought, she mentioned it one time in passing, when he asked her where her dream wedding would be but in no way expected him to actually listen and take it in, Nick Miller was traditional, she just expected that they would be getting married in a standard church with plain flowers and gaudy decorations.

_Maybe it was just a fluke; maybe he just remembered the wild flower thing in passing_ her heart was racing and her palms were sweating as she stepped slowly out from the heavy wooden doors and into the blinding light in front

_It was definitely not a fluke_

For all that she knew Nick Miller was: the scaredy cat, the grumpy mystery, the turtle face, she had never expected hopeless romantic – yet, here she was in her dream wedding location with Nick Miller, it was better than she ever expected.

As the doors swung open she was greeted by the sight of a hundred guests seated on little vintage garden chairs decorated with tiny bunches of wild flowers, the aisle was covered in white rose petals and adorned with fairy lights leading down to an arch, embellished with a hundred white roses. She turned to fully examine her surroundings and saw that beyond the pagodas, chairs and arches surrounding her - there was a huge, still lake, sparkling in the dry heat of the LA sun.

She couldn't stop grinning as she felt her makeup starting to run with the threat of tears when her eyes locked on someone else's chocolate brown eyes; the eyes that meant home, and comfort, passion, and the rest of her life.

When she stepped out into the sun he forgot every single other person in the room, he didn't feel Winston's supportive hand on his shoulder or the hundred other guests switching their gaze between him and Jess as if at a tennis match, he just saw her. She had been incredibly secret about her dress, and when he asked her about it she simply said "If you love me you'll love it, but if you don't know me you won't get it" and his mind was plagued with images of Jess turning up to the wedding in a giant polka dot turkey outfit or a fancy dress fairy princess but all his worries were suddenly evaporated into thin air and he knew that all he ever wanted or needed in life was standing right in front of him.

She was gliding down the aisle in something that was so unbelievably Jess; classically beautiful with a quirky twist. She was wearing the most beautiful dress he had ever seen, it was delicate ivory lace patterned chiffon, it was completely floaty apart from an elasticated waist and a bodice embroidered with two tiny bows along the neckline. Nick had never understood the expression _"took my breath away"_ until now; he felt like nothing else mattered but her and him, not even breathing. She took a few dainty steps down the grassy aisle, and then the music started very quietly playing, so quietly that the entire audience was straining to hear the first tell-tale notes of the classic wedding song. But they would be listening for an eternity, the song that did come on meant more to Jess than anybody other than Nick would know. Jess began to make her way more confidently now, stepping in time to the rhythm of _"I've Had the Time of My Life"_ with an inerasable grin.

Once Jess had arrived under the arch woven with the white roses she loved, the minister began to speak; but Nick hardly heard what he was saying and he was pretty sure Jess wasn't listening intently either, they became lost in each other's eyes, with their gazes flicking between eyes and lips and Nick was sure time had actually come to a standstill until he heard the minister request Nick read his vows.

Though his stomach flipped at the thought of sharing his thoughts and feelings towards his future wife, it did not fill him with dread, because as he looked into Jess' eyes he knew he was reading them for her, and no one else.

He fumbled around in his pocket until his grasp closed around a small bit of napkin from the bar, from the night he couldn't think of anything but Jess and he wrote down all his feelings and promises. They weren't technically vows, but more promises to Jess, not God, or the law or anyone, because it was only her that mattered.

He straightened out the crumpled napkin in his hands and read over the messy scrawl of thoughts and feelings, he was completely sober when he wrote it but you couldn't tell looking at the writing. Whenever he wrote about Jess or anything he was passionate about, his handwriting became a barely legible blur – as he rushes to get down on paper the enormity and joy that she brings him, he hardly can be bothered to stop and cross every T.

He took a deep breath and started reading aloud, to the world and several cameras pointed at him, about how much Jessica Day means to him.

"People told me not to fall in love with my best friend, because it's messy and there's too much to lose. But let me tell you that, that is the worst advice I have ever received - and my father was a conman... Sure it can get messy and complicated and there is a hell of a lot to lose, but who says you're gonna lose? No one ever talks about how it feels when things do work out, because a lot of the time we take it for granted and assume it was just par for the course. But you are something I would never take for granted, because I know what it feels like to lose you. Some relationships are toxic; you trick yourself into thinking you're happy and that this is what you want, but in the end you're just lying to yourself, but other relationships make you happy no matter how bad life seems. When I first met Jess I was a total mess, and even now I'm definitely not perfect , but as soon as she entered my life, I couldn't imagine it without her. I was in an awful place, stuck between hating myself and hating everyone around me. But you bring out something in me, something I didn't know was there, you don't make me a different person or change me completely, but you literally are my better half. If I could share one piece of advice with every single moron crazy enough to listen to me, it would be to always follow your heart and to definitely, _definitely_ fall in love with your best friend. Find someone who can make you laugh no matter what, find someone who can guide you through anything and always be the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dark the rest of the world is – they will be what gets you up in the morning and keeps you going no matter what. Find someone who will sit with you at 3am to comfort you about losing your dad, or even just your favourite team losing the game, because that is friendship and that is love. Jessica Day you are so crazy and I wouldn't have it any other way, I love you. I promise to fancy fix anything you want, to build your dressers, to make you breakfast in bed when you don't feel like talking, to listen to all your stories, to scare cats away from your car with frozen fish fingers, to watch the walking dead with you, to catch all the spiders that crawl across the wall in the middle of the night, to eat tortilla chips and salsa at 2 in the morning and laugh about our roommates, I promise I will always love you and always be there for you."

Nick desperately tried to swallow down the lump in his throat; he refused to cry at his own wedding, as he looked back up to Jess he saw silent tears falling down her face. She stood staring at Nick for several minutes until the minister prompted Jess to follow with her vows. She unscrumpled the sheet of paper she was clutching in her hands until he realised that it wasn't paper at all but another napkin from Nick's bar, he thought back to all the times she could have been writing, all those nights sat at the back of the bar with a bowl of pistachios and a glass of pink wine.

She sniffed delicately, swallowing back the tears and began reading from her napkin in a small, fragile voice brimming with uncensored delight.

"Nicholas, you grumpy, turtle faced fool. I was sat at home for hours trying to think of the right words to express how stupidly, madly in love I am with you, but I couldn't think of anything to describe it well enough, until I remembered back to the 23rd of December 2011. I remember your mum ringing you several times, constantly reminding and pleading you to not miss your flight, like you had the past 4 years. And then I remember you locking yourself outside with me and Paul, after you'd told him that I wasn't in love with him, even then I couldn't help but confide in you, you always had the right words and knew how to make me feel better. That night was at that point pretty low on my list of favourite Christmas Eve Eve's, until you were driving us all to the airport in time to catch your 4am flight to Chicago and suddenly decided to turn the car around and instead of going to see your family, spent the night shouting at strangers to turn on their Christmas lights as your Christmas present to me, it was, and always will be the best Christmas present I could have asked for. You woke up an entire street, just so I could see those lights – and it was that night that I realised that I didn't want to see you 5 years later standing at the altar marrying some random woman, it was then that I knew I would never be able to sit by and watch you have a life without me, because you make me so much better. When I moved into the loft I had Dirty Dancing on repeat for days until you finally managed to convince me that shouldn't waste my time on people like Spencer, and then you came into the restaurant with Schmidt and Coach and sang Dirty Dancing in front of the entire restaurant to cheer me up. I was never going to be able to let you call this off and go find someone else and if you promise to never leave me for some random woman, I promise that however crazy and stupid it gets, that I will always have your back, I will always be there to hold your hand. I promise to do crazy shenanigans with you, and lie to the landlord, to stalk students and possible serial killers and to be with you no matter what, because I love you so much Nick Miller and to be your wife would make me the happiest weirdo in all the land."

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur of elation and tears, they both said I do and exchanged rings. Nick didn't really hear anything until the minister said "You may now kiss the bride" at which point, he grabbed Jess round the waist and kissed her like it was the last time he ever would, but it wasn't - because they had now a lifetime of kisses and shenanigans left to enjoy.

**There will be more on the wedding in the next few chapters, if you have any ideas as to what you want me to write or any opinions on the fic so far PLEASE REVIEW :D**


	13. The Big Dance Number

Jess was perched on the side of one of the flower garnished garden chairs scattered around the room, chewing on the straw from a fruity drink Big Bob had whipped up for her earlier that night. People kept asking her to dance but she didn't hear them, it still all felt like such a dream, for the past 3 hours she had felt elation beyond compare; she was married, and better still, she was married to the love of her life. He wasn't some crazy rich business man with a six pack like she had planned when she was 13 but he was so much better.

The wedding had finished a half an hour ago and people had migrated over to the reception; another beautiful outside area, decorated with quirky vintage tables and delicate flower arrangements. The night was balmy with a lazy wind that occasionally brushed across her cheeks; she thanked god she hadn't had the wedding on the English coast like she had wanted when she was younger, the weather would have been unbearably bitter. The wedding was so perfect in every way possible, it turned out that Nick knew her better than she even knew herself.

"Hey Jess, want one of the cupcakes? I brought you a lemon one because they were all lemon..." Jess looked up at the grinning face standing beside her chair; the grin was framed with soft brunette curls and huge amber eyes. She looked fairly similar to Jess in face but her skin was much browner, as though she was permanently abroad in exotic places – which was ironic because the smiling face was that of her cousin Jaye, who lived in London and was probably exposed to as much sun as the average Eskimo.

"Hey Jaye! No, thanks but I'm scared that if I eat in this dress it will burst or rip at the seams" Jess giggled almost hysterically, she was indeed very hungry but did not want her wedding to be the one everyone remembers because the bride ate too much and broke her own dress.

"Fair enough, if you're ready in a second though, it's almost time for your first dance as husband and wife" She smirked to herself at the cliché but pulled Jess to her feet anyway, ushering her onto the dance floor.

"Jaye – we haven't got a song or anything I have no idea what's going on, Jaye!" Jess whimpered after her cousin who had trotted off to speak to the DJ.

Jess spent the next few minutes fiddling with loose ringlets of hair until she heard someone clearing their throat into the microphone. She turned to see Jaye standing with the DJ waiting for everyone's attention

"Everyone! It's time for Nick and Jess's first dance as husband and wife, please clear space for the happy couple!" Chimed her spritely cousin into the microphone.

Almost immediately, a path was cleared for Jess as she took a few tentative steps towards the dance floor. She felt more self conscious with every step; every eye in the venue was either fixed on her or another point across the other side of the dance floor. She was also incredibly aware of the fact that she did not know how to dance one single bit. _This is worse than the actual wedding_, thought Jess as she felt her cheeks burning.

After what seemed like an eternity, she made it to the centre of the floor, still with no music and no husband; she stood in the huge space that had been cleared for her, quite unsure of what to do with herself.

She was half expecting _I've Had the Time of My Life_ to start playing again, but instead she heard the first few plinking notes of a totally different song. All of a sudden, Nick emerged out of the crowds in his suit and started walking purposefully towards Jess. The garden filled with the soothing sounds of _Groovy Kind of Love _and a huge grin spread across her face as she heard Phil Collins's voice filling the air; she took Nick's outstretched hand and moved right into the centre of the space.

Dancing to this song was the very first time Nick and Jess had ever danced together or even really properly associated with each other. Her head filled with memories of the old, heartbroken Nick, still so obsessed with Caroline and his makeshift photobooth house where he stayed for a large proportion of the wedding, before she had managed to coax him out and he'd ended things with Caroline for good.

Before she even realised what was happening, she was bobbing her head and flapping her arms along to the slow beat of the music. She looked over at Nick as saw he had joined in; doing their slow motion chicken dance was so much better than any fancy waltz she could have hoped for.

After another minute of the hundred guests all watching Nick and Jess intently bobbing their heads and flapping their arms in slow motion, both Winston and Schmidt leapt out and joined in and eventually Schmidt persuaded Cece to dance with them and Winston motioned for Jaye to come over too. Before long the whole room was filled with slow motion head bobbing – Jess's eyes met Nick's and she smiled, she felt so indubitably and undeniably happy.

They danced away in blissful euphoria until it was so dark that the tiny fairy lights strung among the trees were the only clue as to the whereabouts of everything and everyone. As 11pm came round, Jaye was re-gathering the wandering guests so that Nick and Jess could have one last dance together before the night was through. Once again all eyes fell on the couple and they found themselves at either end of a huge cleared space. The music so far had been so wonderful that Jess thought that there were surely no songs left to play. As she was racking her brain for what possible other song there could be for the "finale" as Schmidt put it, she heard the first bars of her favourite cinematic musical number ever. Nick once more strode across the hall and began to work his way through the timeless routine from Dirty Dancing, and after more than one night in watching this movie with a glass of wine and some ice cream, Jess knew the routine better than anything else in the world. She unashamedly leapt across the room to join Nick in their version of the iconic dance number, which included improvised panic-moonwalking and lots of spinning. Nearing the end of the song she looked at Nick questioningly, the big leap was next and she didn't want to hurt him, but to her surprise he simply gave her an encouraging nod and opened his arms.

Though hesitant initially, Jess began taking a running leap towards her new husband and found herself suspended in mid-air, held up by Nick, she felt fearless and like she was ready to take on anything the world could throw at her. She was ready for her new life to begin.


End file.
